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Some have been asking about Sasaki's sponsorship, As far as I know. The JPN team are sponsored by YY for clothing, therefore all players in the A and B teams have the YY logo on the back of their shirts. I believe that the JPN players are allowed to source other sponsorship deals to wear other brands shoes and rackets (although I believe they are "encouraged" to be fully sponsored for rackets and shoes) therefore you may see many JPN players with YY clothing, however many wear Mizuno shoes and some use Mizuno/Gosen/Wilson rackets. This sponsorship agreement between Yonex and the Japan team, is different to the one in place between YY and Netherlands, where all players have to wear YY when representing the country in team events (hence Pang Palayama etc don't play) while I am at it, the writing on the front of the JPN players shirts, are in fact the clubs they represent, hence they have different writing on each shirt (e.g Sasaki has Tonami as his club, Tago club is NTT East) others clubs represented by many international players include JR (Japan Railways) Sanyo and Panasonic.

Some have been asking about Sasaki's sponsorship, As far as I know. The JPN team are sponsored by YY for clothing, therefore all players in the A and B teams have the YY logo on the back of their shirts. I believe that the JPN players are allowed to source other sponsorship deals to wear other brands shoes and rackets (although I believe they are "encouraged" to be fully sponsored for rackets and shoes) therefore you may see many JPN players with YY clothing, however many wear Mizuno shoes and some use Mizuno/Gosen/Wilson rackets....

a bit off topic:
thanks for the input..any source(s) for the infos?
Also, regarding JPN players being allowed to wear other brands during a tournament, does that apply to every tourney they participate in? or only certain tourney which is approved by the JPN badminton association?
Because, I was also told from another source (this is unconfirmed), JPN players are required to wear/use YY brands (incl. non-attires) at tourneys (within the calendar yr) which are approved by the JPN badminton association.
..waiting for madbad's report..

I had several 'K' Braves, which I really enjoyed playing with, but experienced endless problems with the handle and cone. I had four in total, two of which were sent back to the retailer. Also, the gold chrome was a magnet for scuffs and scratches. A very decent performer though.

Sho is drawn against Lin Dan in the Quarter-Final of the World Championships. I honestly think he could go all the way if he manages to beat LD - a feat which he has done before. However, he could potentially meet Gade in the Semis, a player he has never beaten in six previous attempts. I suppose at this stage of the tournament any opponent you are drawn against is going to be a challenge. Good Luck Sho.

He is now officially 9th in the world (18th Aug 11). I'm only now getting the chance to watch his QF match against Lin Dan as BWF's live steaming of the tournament was geo-blocked in the latter stages. A good match, but I felt he played too many high shots to Lin Dan's forehand side. I suppose it begins to get complicated when you are playing a left-hander and you are left-handed yourself.

This guy is on fire. Another Grand Prix final (Vietnam) and against Nguyen Tien Minh....again! At 28 he's a bit of a late bloomer, certainly by Asian standards. I really hope he manages to win a Super-Series.

I suppose it begins to get complicated when you are playing a left-hander and you are left-handed yourself.

?? Why would it bew more complicated to play a left-hander if you are lef-handed yourself, than if you are right-handed?

Most people are right-handed so it will always be more familiar to play against a right-hander. But this is no different just because he is left handed himself.. He still will play predomeniantely against right handers, and it may feel abit awkward to meet a leftie.. On the other hand this also holds true for his opponent that will have to adjust to that HE is left-handed.. So most likely it is probably more of an advantage than a dissadvantage for him against LD for example.

I had several 'K' Braves, which I really enjoyed playing with, but experienced endless problems with the handle and cone. I had four in total, two of which were sent back to the retailer. Also, the gold chrome was a magnet for scuffs and scratches. A very decent performer though.

Some players I know over here sponsored by Wilson are having serious quality problems with their gear (they complain about the quality even though they got unlimited free replacements!! That says alot, I think). Their rackets seems to be among the lowest quality and with frequent breakages (especially handles/cones etc).. No one of the sponsored players uses wilson strings. The Shuttles (even the best topline 100 are so so). They seem to compete more on "known" tennis-brand and pricing than high-quality stuff.

Some players I know over here sponsored by Wilson are having serious quality problems with their gear (they complain about the quality even though they got unlimited free replacements!! That says alot, I think). Their rackets seems to be among the lowest quality and with frequent breakages (especially handles/cones etc).. No one of the sponsored players uses wilson strings. The Shuttles (even the best topline 100 are so so). They seem to compete more on "known" tennis-brand and pricing than high-quality stuff.

What specific rackets are your friends experiencing the problems with, the BLX or 'K' Factor range? Likewise, I read that the N-code series experienced a number of quality issues. Regarding Wilson's own badminton strings, as far as I know they are OEM. I have a pair of Wilson Elite 1000 court shoes which are amongst the best pair of badminton shoes I have worn. However, Sho's shoes, clothing and choice of string are supplied by Yonex.